Clodagh Lawlor says the real shock isn’t Luke Combs selling out Slane — it’s that he didn’t immediately lock in a third night. ML
The rising country feels that country fans here are living the dream.
While it’s fair to say that many people were astonished that a guy they’d never heard of had sold out TWO Slane Castle concerts for next July — the biggest surprise for rising star Clodagh Lawlor is that Luke Combs didn’t add a third one.
American superstar Combs (35) this month overtook Garth Brooks (63) as the highest-certified country artist in history after reaching 168 million combined sales and streams compared to Brooks’ 162.5 million.
Brooks had held the record for more than 20 years in his own phenomenal career.
Clodagh Lawlor with American country star Kane Brown
Irish country singer and songwriter Clodagh Lawlor, who also presents a country music show on Today FM, says Combs is the hottest artist in the genre today.
“People say it’s crazy that Luke Combs has sold out two Slane gigs, but I’m not surprised,” Clodagh tells the Sunday World.
“I did think he was going to have to put on two shows, and people who go to the first night will go to the second night as well.
“The tickets are priced at a reasonable price to see someone of the calibre of Luke Combs. I saw Alan Jackson’s tickets for his farewell concerts in America on sale for 600 to 700 dollars for the very back of the stage.
Clodagh at the Grand Ole Opry
“I saw Luke performing last month in London when the Grand Ole Opry show played the Royal Albert Hall, and the minute he came out on stage he got a standing ovation.
“People often ask me what is the appeal of country music? It’s down to the songs that are about the stuff that goes on in all of our lives and we can all relate to them.
“Country music is about the ordinary person and ordinary life. It’s stuff that people connect with, the break-ups and the make-ups and everything in between. Luke is in his 30s and he’s singing about the things that people of his generation are going through. It’s everyday life stuff. He also has that simple look about him and then it’s just his voice and a guitar and a band.”
Clodagh, who has just released a self-written song called Raised On Country, played a key role in the performance of American country superstar Kane Brown’s recent concert at Dublin’s 3Arena.
During the performance Brown produced a hurley stick and sliotar and did 10 “keepy-uppies” to the delight of his Irish fans.
Clare woman Clodagh, who is from Newmarket-on-Fergus, reveals that she received the hurley from Tipperary All-Ireland winning star Willie Connors.
“I did an interview with Kane Brown a couple of months before he came to the 3Arena and he mentioned that he loved Ireland,” Clodagh says.
“He said that when he previously played here he went into this pub and there was a hurling match on the TV. He told me, ‘It’s so cool and I really want to know how to do it.’
Clodagh with American country singer Lainey Wilson
“So I put the call out for a hurley and sliotar before I went to meet him at the 3Arena and, fair play to Willie Connors who I didn’t personally know, he offered me one along with his jersey and a training top.
“For a second when I presented it to Kane in his dressing room at the 3Arena before his show he didn’t know what I was talking about… and then he remembered and said, ‘Oh my God, yes, yes’
“And then he later brought it out on stage, which was so cool. It was a bit of fun in his Irish show and the audience loved it.”
Clodagh, who will next month attend the CMAs in Nashville — the Oscars of the country music world — has also been co-opted to the CMA board to promote the genre in the UK.
“I’m on the board of the CMAs now, on the UK task force to try and get more country music on the radio and put it out there in a positive light,” she reveals.
“They have invited me to the CMAs and to get the chance to be in the room with all of the American country music stars that I admire is something I never thought I’d achieve.
“I’ve been to Nashville a couple of times this year and met some amazing people in the business, including some of the main people behind the Grand Ole Opry where I got to see shows four out of the six nights I was there.
Clodagh with American country legend Crystal Gayle
“Visiting the Grand Ole Opry was like Disneyland for me, it was magical and the people were so grounded. I was sitting there talking about music and talking about Ireland and it was normal conversations. It wasn’t like you were intimidated by these people.
“Country artists in America are so down to earth, they’re humble. They’re not about an ego, they’re all about the music.
“I’m really living the dream because as the title of my new songs says, I was raised on country. Writing and releasing my own music is a goal going forward because there’s no better way to shape what you want to be.
“I’m trying to put my own stamp on country with my own music. Being around a lot of the American country stars lately I’ve seen how you have to have your own sound and image so that people can recognise who you are.”
Clodagh says she grew up to the soundtrack of ’90s country in the family home as her mother was a fan of artists of the era such as Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood and Reba McEntire.
“And then the women that followed from there made me fall in love with that sound,” she says. “Women like Carly Pearce and Lainey Wilson are still tapping into that empowerment of the women in the ’90s and it comes through in their songs and everything about them.”
